1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to target launching and recovery means and more particularly to an improved aerial gunnery target and reel system.
2. Prior Art
Currently, most aerial gunnery targets and twolines are air-dropped after each mission, with an attendent high loss rate. Although these visual targets are suitable to exercise weapon usage and procedures, they fall short in the evaluation of pilot and weapon systems performance. Even direct hits are undetected in the newer targets. In order to evaluate effectiveness, an expensive electronic miss-distance indicator must be used at the target. It therefore becomes very desirable to be able to recover this indicator intact along with the target and twoline.
Certain aerial target recovery systems have been devised and are in use. Some of these systems are bulky and not well adapted for use on small light weight aircraft. Others of these system are relatively expensive. There is still a need for a low cost, low weight, compact, durable and efficient aerial target gunnery deployment and recovery system which can be easily connected to the underside of the main fuselage and/or wing of even small aircraft and can be utilized to efficiently pay out and retrieve aerial targets.